Encyclopedia Britannica gets digital

Say goodbye to the volumes of books on your shelves

Tuesday, Encyclopedia Britannica announced that it will end its print publication and only be offered online, reports Reuters. This move by the Encyclopedia Britannica is just another indication of print’s demise, and digital publishing is becoming evermore dominant.

“Everyone will want to call this the end of an era, and I understand that,” company president Jorge Cauz said. “But there’s no sad moment for us. I think outsiders are more nostalgic about the books than I am.”

Encyclopedia Britannica offered its 32-volumes ever two years for $1400. The new online digital version will run you about $70 per year; though, the company has also recently launched a set of apps, running from $1.99 to $4.99 per month.

“The print set is an icon. But it’s an icon that doesn’t do justice to how much we’ve changed over the years,” Cauz added.

While the romance of print may be slowly slipping away, the Encyclopedia Britannica moving online now becomes an excellent competitor for Wikipedia. While Wikipedia may me an solid reference for beginning research or looking up a quick tidbit, the fact that it can be edited and written by anyone leaves it inaccurate and untrustworthy.

“This has been the reality of reference texts for years now,” Cauz stated. “Updating dozens of books every two years now seems so pedestrian. The younger generation consumes data differently now, and we want to be there.”

Encyclopedia Britannica was first printed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1768 and is the oldest English-language encyclopedia.